Funding Reflects Confidence in RTS Market


A Series A fi nancing round that raised €3 million ($3.2 million) will boost the product development roadmap for ABC Transfer, a new manufacturer of secure Rapid Transfer Systems (RTS) for the biopharmaceutical industry. Led by Go Capital, a representative of the Loire Valley Invest Fund, the French National Bank Bpifrance and the regional government of Centre-Val de Loire, the funding refl ects investor confi dence both in the company’s business model and in potential market opportunities in aseptic transfer systems.


Following collaborative input from nine GMP industrial partners, the ABC Transfer® system, was designed from scratch to resolve 50 shortcomings identifi es in currently available RTP and RTS solutions. The company will also strengthen its R&D activities, maintaining a budget of at least 15% of its turn-over over the long term.


Thanking the investors, Thierry Girard, CEO of ABC Transfer said: “Achieving this strong fi nancial backing means that we will be able to roll out a complete range of Rapid Transfer System solutions, eagerly awaited by customers and position our products as true


innovations within biopharmaceuticals. The benefi ts of our high- performance and ergonomic designs include ultra-cleanliness, GMP compliance, safety and security. We look forward to raising awareness with customers of these and a host of revolutionary RTS system features.”


“Go Capital is proud to accompany ABC Transfer’s management team on this project. It is set to become one of the major manufacturers of equipment and consumables for aseptic transfer chains, thanks to its signifi cant breakthrough in innovation and large portfolio of patents,” said Herve Bachelot-Lallier, Investment Director of Go Capital. “The rich experience of the team, the dynamics of the sector and the need for quality in the pharmaceutical industry are assets favourable to ABC Transfer’s success.’’


ABC Transfer was co-founded in June 2019 by Thierry Girard, CEO, CFO and CCO and Jean-Luc Schneider, COO and CTO.


52746pr@reply-direct.com Jean-Luc Schneider and Thierry Girard


Role Focused on Developing US Business


Dr Overton has more than 20 years’ experience in business development roles within the CRO sector. He joins Sygnature from the Global testing specialist Eurofi ns, where he was Head of European Sales, Marketing and Key Account Management. His previous employers include Evotec and Aptuit where he was Global Head of Business Development and Marketing. He has a biological sciences background with a PhD in cell biology obtained from the University of Surrey. After several years working in various research laboratories, he made the move into business development.


Speaking of his new role at Sygnature Dr Overton said: ‘This is an exciting, dynamic and fast-growing science-driven company. I am really looking forward to building stronger relationships with existing US customers and creating further strategic partnerships with major pharmaceutical and biotech companies.”


From left to right: Dr Paul Overton, Company CEO Dr Simon Hirst and Dr Paul Clewlow


Dr Paul Overton has joined Sygnature Discovery as Senior VP of Business Development, focusing primarily on expanding the North American market for the drug discovery and pre-clinical solutions provider. In this newly created role, he will work alongside Dr Paul Clewlow, Senior VP, Business Development and Executive Board Director.


Dr Clewlow added: More than half of our business is currently in the US, with a mixture of big pharma and VC-backed biotech clients,’ he says. ‘I have known Paul for a number of years and his experience in business development and drug discovery will be invaluable in accelerating our business growth there. He will also make a signifi cant contribution to our global sales and marketing strategy.”


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€18 Million Investment into Life Science Lab


Science and technology company Merck has announced an €18 million investment into a new laboratory facility in Buchs, Switzerland to support the company’s rapidly growing reference materials business. The company anticipates that about two dozen jobs will be created.


“Researchers in testing labs around the world use Merck’s reference materials every day to help generate accurate, reliable analytical results in pharmaceutical, environmental and food and beverage analysis,” said Jean-Charles Wirth, head of Applied Solutions, Life Science at Merck. “This new laboratory will allow us to continue to drive innovation in diagnostics and testing and expand our research and development of analytical standards.”


Completion of the three-story, 1,125m2 Buchs building is scheduled for December 2021 and the move is planned for early 2022. Founded in 1950, the Buchs location employs around 450 people.


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Therapeutic for Treatment Resistant Breast Cancer Gains US Patent


A new US patent covering IpY, a therapeutic peptide addressing drug- resistant breast cancer by targeting the cellular pathway p27Kip1, will enable Concarlo Holdings, as exclusive licensee, to move forward with commercialisation of medicines for metastatic breast cancer.


Concarlo has also fi led a provisional patent application for modifi ed versions of the therapeutic peptide that are believed to exhibit enhanced bioavailability. CDK4i drugs directly target the CDK4/6 pathway implicated in many malignancies; however, such therapeutics are associated with patients transitioning to a treatment-resistant form of the condition, despite initial extended periods of remission.


“Despite the clinical effi cacy of CDK4 inhibitors, we’re seeing that primary or secondary resistance to therapy is presenting a signifi cant challenge to overall survival,” commented Dr Dominique Bridon, Chief Development Offi cer at Concarlo. “With the IpY technology and its unique mechanism of action, we’re effectively targeting CDK4 while simultaneously inhibiting another target - CDK2 - which has been found to be a key molecular player in the development of drug resistance. In doing so, we are the fi rst company to successfully address the CDK4i resistance issue to provide long-term durable tumor arrest. Combined with its highly specifi c targeting and low toxicity profi le, the positive impact of this drug on the breast cancer treatment landscape is hard to understate.”


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Tecan and Labforward Collaborate to Offer Digital Documentation of Plate Reader Experiments


Tecan is pleased to announce that it has entered into a collaboration with leading smart lab provider Labforward. Labforward introduces Well Plate Templates and the Tecan Connector App add-ons for their Labfolder electronic lab notebook software that offers connectivity with Tecan microplate readers.


Laboratories increasingly require an easy-to-use solution that integrates lab equipment into the larger workfl ow, with access to key instrument functionality and electronic data capture. Well Plate Templates integrates with SparkControl Magellan™ and Magellan™ Pro to provide a straightforward user interface for control of Tecan microplate readers and electronic data capture into Labfolder. This versatile app allows operators to design multi-well experiments, document


sample preparation steps and execute detection protocols, as well as recording and managing the experimental data.


Sandro Palumbo, Director Detection at Tecan, said: “We are delighted to work with Labforward to integrate our Magellan software with the new Well Plate Templates app. It provides the connectivity our customers need via a simplifi ed interface, giving them seamless


control over the operation of their laboratory plate readers as part of a broader lab workfl ow, from planning to execution.”


Simon Bungers, CEO and co-founder of Labforward, commented: “When we decided to extend the functionality of Labfolder, we looked for a partner that had an excellent reputation in the fi eld and shared our philosophy in terms of openness; Tecan fi tted the bill perfectly.” Florian Hauer, CPO and co-founder, added: “Tecan has a modern outlook, and understands the need for an independent platform that connects to different datasets from various devices. We look forward to further collaboration in the future.”


More information online: ilmt.co/PL/m2Mx 52798pr@reply-direct.com


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